Sunday, 29 March 2015

We live in a country
where number of people who have a cell phone is higher than the number who has
access to a toilet. Shocking right?

The lack of toilets
paired with bad sanitation is the world’s biggest problem and sadly India leads
the way in open defecation. More unfortunate are our country’s little girls and
women, because it is not just the wilderness and diseases that they have to
safeguard themselves from but from men, who disregard them at the earliest
chance.

Luckily 2014-15 have
witnessed a change in the tide with Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching the “Clean
India Mission” campaign (“Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”) which directed the much
needed attention to our surroundings and the ‘big’ problem of ‘toilets’.

Construction of toilets under the project
has gone up to 7.1 lakh individual household toilets in January. This number is
way short of ‘1.2 crore toilets’ target, still it is promising. However government
needs to gain speed to accomplish 100%, no open defecation across country.

Contributing to the mission is a company
from West Bengal, Sangam Prefab Concrete
Products Pvt. Ltd. They have introduced low cost portable and bio toilets under
their brand “SWACHH TOILET” to contribute to the
urgency of the situation. They believe that “Toilet” is a must for a healthy
life and they are doing their share to protect the dignity of our country.

CLEAN TOILET

People from all spheres
of life have joined the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ campaign but it is still a long
path down the aisle. A food for thought - If every individual in a country of
1.25 billion just do their ‘bit’, we might not be far behind in accomplishing a
cleaner, healthier and a better India to live in. Yes, we can make a difference
but only if we believe that we can.

Are you doing your bit?

Tuesday, 24 March 2015

On a super cool trip with your
friends, with utmost levels of excitement, what is one basic facility you are
looking at? A blanket? Electricity? I certainly would say, TOILET! What do you
think so?

Gone are the days when people
wanted heat, they made fire! Agree!

When people wanted to use a
toilet, they had to dig a hole or find some forest space. Agree!

Gone are the very old days where
thousands and lakhs of people didn't have the facility! REALLY? The situation
is still the same my dear friends! It is sadly still the same!

The situation doesn't exist only
in India. One-third of people on this planet do not have access to Toilets.
They still dig holes, still use plastic bags, find a tree or the river close
by.

What is actually happening?

More than half of Indian household’s
defecate in the open. Human waste goes into the water. People get sick, also
die! This is also one main reason of child malnutrition. Moreover diseases
spread – diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery and so on. This deadly wave kills more than two million
children every year. A shocking figure!

Though 2014-15 bought a welcome
change in the Indian sanitation aspects, achieving better results is not an
easy task in the Indian scenario. People are being offered an improved life,
for which they have to change the way they live. Awareness and education is
primary.

Toilet hence is an alarming need of the hour. Toilets first, temples later!